Where are they?

Annual Exhibition

1. Petroleum ~ steel

Joe Forrest Sackett, Albuquerque, N.M.

From the artist: "I work mostly in steel, although I utilize other media as well. My themes are varied. The work is primarily abstract and sometimes geometrically based. Humor, or perhaps I should stay wit, is often part of what I do. I have built and exhibited a number of outdoor sculptural works, but I also make smaller pieces intended for interior display."

Sackett is an artist and a playwright and also has been a teacher, college administrator, cabinet maker and contractor.

2. The Seeker - cor-ten steel

James K. Johnson, Charleston, Ill.

From the artist: "As a sculptor, I have always been concerned with creating works of art that cause the viewer to pause and reflect upon their surroundings and, in doing so, become more aware of the environment in which they are passing. Each work of art that I have designed and fabricated is a reflection of past experiences that have shaped my life and the interest that I have in ancient cultures, especially the Maya and Inca, that used art as a means of understanding their place in the history of mankind. Equally important has been my use of the arch as a means of transforming the viewer from a place and time of activity to one of calm and reflection."

Johnson's art career spans more than 40 years. As a sculptor/artist he has participated in more than 60 regional and national juried and invitational exhibitions and completed numerous large-scale outdoor sculptures. As an educator, he held several positions at universities throughout the country and last served as professor and dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at Eastern Illinois University.

A native of London, England, Scicluna was the recipient of the 2012 South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship for Visual and Media Artists and has exhibited works in his home state and at the Rendez-Vous 08, Musee d'Art Contemporain de Lyon, in conjunction with the Moore Space European Residency Program, Lyon, France.

4. Sonic - steel and acrylic

Andrew P. Matt, Birmingham, Mich.

From the artist: "The 'Sonic' sculpture project is the result of my interest in the relationships between form and sound. The piece itself is intended to be a device for continued testing and with a focus on material and formal investigations relative to pschoacoustic properties."

Matt is a multidisciplinary artist, architect, designer and principal of Ampdesign, an experimental art, architecture and design firm. The work of Ampdesign is one of methodological and insturment-driven experimentation, striving for unique and innovative materilas applications.

5. Tower of Code - wood, aluminum, steel

V. Skip Willits, Camanche, Iowa

From the artist: "I use driftwood and lumber collected from the banks and islands of the river I live beside. As I carve the wood, I imagine its history, its origins. I imagine the journey down the river to the shore where I found it. The process is ritualistic in nature.

"The technique I use to help create my artwork, welded metal, is a skill I learned from my father, who was a shop welder for 40 years. He taught me the characteristics of materials, such as steel, cast iron and aluminum, along with the techniques I use to fabricate with them. Lately, I have begun to incorporate materials from that river into my work: driftwood, beaver sticks, clam shells, materials collected from flotsam drifts along the shore and in the forest islands of the river."

6. Compatible - welded steel

Robert Lamberson, Dannebrog, Neb.

From the artist: "'Compatible' is a welded steel piece that stands about eight feet tall. It is composed of two totally different types of metal, a tall, straight piece and a shorter, perforated, triangular piece of a different color, which, when attached together, make an attractive sculpture. It symbolizes the fact that two very dissimilar items, be it people or whatever, can be united and become compatible.

"I live and work with my wife in our studio on the Loup River. My extensive experience with functional design and welding and my continuous contact with art and artists dating back to the mid-1960s has given me a solid background in many aspects of the visual arts. This seemed to naturally evolve into working with sculptural forms and the creation of both indoor and outdoor sculpture. My work is normally characterized by the use of contrasting geometric forms and contrasting colors and textures, with an occasional touch of humor or whimsy."

7. Four, Three, Two, One - steel

Joe Forrest Sackett, Albuquerque, N.M.

From the artist: "I believe that art has teeth, and can bite. It should be provocative. However, the work must also beguile, since provocation without beauty or charm is, in the end, hollow. I value craftsmanship, so I do my own labor. I take pleasure in the work."

Sackett is an artist and a playwright and has also been a teacher, college administrator, cabinetmaker and contractor.

Close/Open

Choose a feed:

What's an Ichabod?

Washburn's mascot, the Ichabod, honors the school's early benefactor, Ichabod Washburn, a 19th century Massachusetts industrialist. The original design of the studious-looking, tuxedo-clad figure was created in 1938 by Bradbury Thompson (ba '34), who became an internationally acclaimed graphic artist. Design wasn't Thompson's only consideration. To the stylized Ichabod the artist attributed the qualities of "...courage and enthusiasm, as shown by his brisk walk. He is democratic and courteous, for he tips his hat as he passes. Sincere in his search for truth and knowledge, he studiously carries a book under his arm..."